"He is a prodigy of wickedness, a human demon, a being so unthinkable that no novelist would dare to invent such a character. The story, too, tends to illustrate the end of the century."

- Chicago Times-Herald, 1895 (Larson, 370)

Evidence

The Chicago police finally found what they had been looking for when the custodian of the castle confessed that he was never allowed up on the higher floors. The authorities used this as probable cause to begin inspecting the castle. Over the next month they were able to piece together Holmes’ killing techniques and strategies. On August 19, 1895 a mysterious fire burnt the entire building to the ground.

Holmes' Final Moments

Sketch of Holmes in prison

Holmes was put on trial for the murder of Pitezel and confessed, following his conviction, to 30 murders in Chicago, Indianapolis and Toronto (though some he confessed to murdering were, in fact, still living), and six attempted murders. However, Holmes' death count is thought to be well in hundreds as the missing persons list of the time correlated with the time Holmes' was active. Holmes was paid US $7,500 ($209,520 in today's dollar) by the Hearst Newspapers in exchange for this confession. He gave various contradictory accounts of his life, claiming initially innocence and later that he was possessed by Satan. His faculty for lying has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain any truth on the basis of his statements."At 10:13 AM on May 7, 1896, after a breakfast of boiled eggs, dry toast, and coffee, Holmes was escorted to the gallows at Moyamensing Prison. Until the moment of his death, Holmes remained calm and collected, showing very few signs of fear, anxiety or depression. To his executioner, Holmes spoke his last words, "Take you time, old man" (Larson, 386)Holmes's neck did not snap; he instead was strangled to death slowly, twitching over 15 minutes before being pronounced dead 20 minutes after the trap had been sprung.

Quote/Excerpt Explanation

I chose the opening quote because, again, it supports the conservative period in which Holmes was living. It described how Holmes was absolute evil in the eyes of the public. Then I chose the excerpt because it reflected Holmes' Antisocial Personality Disorder since Holmes was cool and collected even in the face of death.